“The global decarbonization goals set for 2030 are not easy, but they are achievable”

The expert assures the Round Table “FIT FOR 55, the EU package that will promote climate action”, organized by ANESE (National Association of Energy Service Companies) and COIIM (Official Association of Industrial Engineers of Madrid)

Climate change requires an immediate response from society and the business fabric to put a stop to the consequences of this serious problem that affects the planet. According to Laura San Segundo, head of Energy Management at Edison Next, at the Round Table “FIT FOR 55, the EU package that will promote climate action”, organized by ANESE and COIIM, “we are experiencing a climate emergency that it has begun to be faced at a global level, with measures that face climate change and decarbonization strategies that are giving results. At Edison Next we are convinced that it is possible to achieve the Fit for 55 goals, even if they are not easy”.

This European roadmap lays the foundations for a transition towards renewable energy sources, with the objective of achieving a 55% reduction in emissions worldwide, although the States will have a weighted objective based on their GDP.

In Spain, for example, this emission reduction target is set at 23% of its domestic product, according to the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) 2021-2030. With the modification introduced by Fit for 55, this goal is even raised to speed up the transition to cleaner energies.

The European agenda sets a time horizon until 2050 and, for example, the new independent emission rights trading system for buildings and road transport will not come into force until 2026 and the ban on marketing passenger cars or vans with motors of internal combustion in the EU has been set for 2035.

As the participants in the Forum organized by ANESE and COIIM have highlighted, the European Union has become in recent years the main promoter of measures against climate change, with the aim of achieving climate neutrality, in its area of influence and before 2050. As an intermediate step, the aforementioned “Objective 55” stands out to reduce emissions by at least 55% between now and 2030.

However, the challenge is global, since the European Union is only responsible for 8% of current emissions worldwide, while China, Japan and the United States are the main emitters of CO2 on a global scale.

Laura San Segundo considers that the Objective 55 package of measures, which revises and updates the current EU legislation, “is more than convenient and is in line with the climate objectives agreed by the Council and the European Parliament. But to meet these objectives it is necessary to promote aid actions by increasing subsidies for energy efficiency, establishing a very strong link with digitization. One of the most important actions to contribute to these objectives is to monitor consumption and be able to make decisions based on data, since ‘What is not measured cannot be improved'”.

This energy transition is one of those responsible for the current rise in the electricity bill, which is too linked to the price of gas and energy dependence, compared to the still low contribution of renewable energies.

The most efficient solution, according to San Segundo, involves “accelerating the transition to renewable energy and committing to energy efficiency solutions that allow the consolidation of energy independence from other more expensive and polluting sources of generation.”

The Edison Next expert has also stressed that “in recent years the alarm has been raised in different sectors due to the upward trend in the price of CO2, with more and more sectors being affected in the short term by the emissions market”. In this line, the directive advises the business fabric “to develop decarbonisation strategies that allow climate neutrality to be achieved by 2050, in accordance with regulations such as the European Green Deal or the Fit-for-55 measures”.

In fact, “significant improvements in energy efficiency have been achieved in the industry over the last few years. At Edison Next, as a global energy partner, we have accompanied our clients in improving their processes in terms of energy consumption and increasing the competitiveness of their products in the market. We have seen the great potential for existing savings due to the high energy consumption both in the heat generation part and in the cold generation part”, adds San Segundo.

This discussion forum, moderated by the director of ANESE, Carlos Ballesteros, was held yesterday in online mode, with the participation of César Franco, Dean of the COIIM; Oliverio Álvarez, Partner of DELOITTE; Cristina Rivero, responsible for the international area of AEMENER; and Jaime Segarra, President of the Energy Commission of the COIIM, in addition to the aforementioned Laura San Segundo, Head of Energy Management (EMS) of Edison Next Ibérica. The event was closed by Manuel Ángel Soriano, Controller of AIIM (Association of Industrial Engineers of Madrid).